Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello’s blunt message before getting optioned

Perhaps Brayan Bello saw it coming, so he let it loose with his words following his brutal start in an 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

Before getting sent by the Red Sox to Triple-A Worcester, the 27-year-old pitcher had some blunt words about his situation. Boston has tried using openers in front of Bello in the 2026 MLB season, which he doesn’t seem to fully embrace.

“Just stop talking about bullpen and starting games,” Bello said through an interpreter (h/t Christopher Smith of MassLive).

“I’ve always been a starter. And when I’ve been successful as a starter, nobody has questioned whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games. So starting from there, just stop that talk because I’m just having a bad season. That’s it. It’s not whether I’m a starter or I’m a reliever. I’m just having a bad season. But I know I can turn it around. I always have. And I think I will.”

Against the Orioles, Bello started, but was knocked around by Baltimore’s offense. He gave up six runs in the first inning and ended his mound duty with eight earned runs on seven hits, three walks issued and four strikeouts through just 5.0 innings of work.

The Dominican hurler was coming off two consecutive solid outings before his appearance versus the Orioles. In those two games, he pitched for 15.0 innings and surrendered zero earned runs with 10 strikeouts to lower his season ERA to 5.63.

But his struggles against Baltimore raised his 2026 ERA back to 6.34, with a 2-6 record in 12 appearances, including eight starts, over 61.0 innings.

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